


The Music of Undertale

by the_fox333



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: they/them Napstablook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_fox333/pseuds/the_fox333
Summary: This is a headcanon I've had for a long time, put into some semblance of narrative form. Enjoy!





	

It was Napstablook's idea. They'd always wanted to create an album, and now that they had a potential audience of billions, they knew just what they wanted it to be about. The story of the Underground and its liberation, in musical form. Now all that remained to do was write it.

It took about 60 seconds to realize the scope of the project. Just writing down all the areas that would need songs took half of that time, and adding all the major people they knew pushed them onto another sheet of paper. Without even consulting anyone, the list was a good 50 songs long. Some artists might cut or condense, but Napstablook was truly dedicated to their craft. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it thoroughly.

The queen was first on their list. They had met her a few times while living in the Ruins, but they had never talked to her outside of a few pleasantries. They almost hung up when they heard her voice, but steeling their ethereal nerves, they explained the intention of their project and what they needed from her. She happily agreed, and the next day she showed up to their house, bringing some scribbled ideas for tunes and an antique music box as a reference. With her help, they put together several demo tracks and wrote down several more.

Next was Snowdin and the surrounding area. They had passed through numerous times while moving to Waterfall, but they had tried to stay as out-of-the-way as possible. Luckily, Toriel took the initiative, and one day the skeleton brothers showed up, introducing themselves and bringing a plethora of ideas. Some Snowdin residents had made their own demo tracks, and Papyrus turned out to be competent enough on the piano to play some of the tunes suggested. As the two left, Sans handed them a slip of paper with his number and told them to give a call when they were almost done. Napstablook didn't question it, thanking everyone heartily. Maybe they could get this done.

Waterfall was probably the easiest. They wrote most of the music themself, choosing to include several demo tracks they had been working on before the barrier broke. They were a bit nervous to call Undyne on account of her overbearing personality, but the unexpected accompaniment by Alphys seemed to mellow her, and the experience was altogether pleasant.

Accompanied once again by Undyne, Alphys returned the following day to work on Hotland. Having never visited, Napstablook was at a disadvantage, but Alphys seemed to be overflowing with ideas. She got a bit cagey when they got to the True Lab, but Undyne took over, showing them the drafts of the music the pair had created for it. They got lots of tracks drafted with the help of Undyne, who was practically a master on the piano.

If Waterfall was the easiest, however, Hotland was the hardest. Alphys was a major contributor, but she hadn't been everywhere, preferring to stay in her lab. She did, however, know someone who could help. Napstablook was sure they could handle meeting a stranger- until Alphys gave them the number. By the time they recognized it, the call was already being placed.

"Blooky!" exclaimed the voice. It was all too familiar, having occupied many a night of boredom and frustration. "Long time no see! What do you need, darling?"

"H-hi, Metta," Napstablook stuttered. They wanted to hate Mettaton for acting like there was no unresolved tension between them, but they couldn't bring themself to. "Um, h-how've you been?"

"I've been well, Blooky," was the nonchalant answer. "How has the surface been treating you?"

"Good," Napstablook mumbled absentmindedly. "Um, so, Metta, I was wondering if you could, maybe, come to my house? Is there a day that works for you? It-it's okay if there's not, I just-"

"Oh, of course, Blooky darling!" Mettaton was quick to interject. "It's been so long since I've seen you, I'd absolutely love it!" After a short pause, he continued, "Is there any particular- reason?"

"Well- um- I-" Napstablook fumbled. "See, I wanted to write music about the Underground, and I'm at Hotland, and Doctor Alphys said you could help, and..." They trailed off, and when Mettaton didn't answer for a moment, they got nervous.

"You... want my help to write music?" Napstablook didn't answer, fearing their cousin's reaction. It was only when Mettaton continued that they could hear the probably literal stars in his eyes.

_"Darling."_

It was too late to start anything new, but Mettaton was at their door bright and early the next morning, absolutely brimming with ideas. The day was a rush of brainstorming and apologies for not getting together sooner and promises to visit again. When Mettaton finally waved goodbye from his (hot pink) sports car, Napstablook found themself feeling relieved. They could do this.

There were only two people left to interview, and they turned out to be conveniently linked. So when Napstablook opened the door, expecting the King to be alone, they found the entire Royal Family, Frisk included. Toriel insisted on staying while Frisk recalled the details of their adventure and gave the existing tracks a listen. Asgore put forward some suggestions for New Home, then helped touch up the track order and advise where to put the new ones created by Frisk's account. After so long, Napstablook was finally done.

When the Dreemurs left, Napstablook returned to their computer to find the slip of paper taped to the screen. The phone was still floating next to their head when they heard a knock, and there was Sans.

"Hear me out," was his blunt opening after taking a seat, followed by an hour-long explanation that Napstablook wasn't sure they fully understood. The things Sans told them about didn't match at all with what Frisk had described, and some obviously hadn't happened- Undyne was very clearly alive. But they wrote down the things Sans told them, even the frightening ones, and was impressed by the second tracks Sans mixed for himself, Undyne, and Mettaton. Sans gave a nod of approval and bid them farewell before they gathered the courage to ask too many questions.

Then came the final drafts. It took weeks of constant work, visited occasionally by Mettaton and less frequently by the others, but Napstablook would not be dissuaded. When they called everyone up to give the finals a listen, all of them were awestruck, Alphys in particular commenting on the retro feel distinctive to their style. When they played the tracks for _Home_ , they swore they saw tears in the Dreemurs' eyes.

After months of hard work, it was done. But listening to it, Napstablook was sure something was still missing. There was a lack of attachment, something that prevented them from really connecting to the emotions of Frisk's journey. They mentioned this to Alphys, and she sat there for a moment before saying, "You know, I might have an idea."

One caffeine-fueled evening later, both Napstablook's and Alphys's hard drives were full of images, programs, and references, and they had a working title: Undertale.

**Author's Note:**

> This gives me a lot of nostalgia for when I first discovered Undertale and listened to the music a lot. I'm glad I decided to write this down.


End file.
